Thursday, April 22, 2010

LEMON-SYRUP TEA CAKE

If you are going to make any lemon cake, make this one! After countless lemon tea cakes, pound cakes, loafs etc, nothing beats this. One bite and you'll be daydreaming of the English countryside, sipping tea on a warm summer's day.It's the perfect afternoon cake; light, refreshing and vibrant with its sweet, lemony favor which is truly awoken by the syrup oozing through. It just melts in your mouth.If you don't have self-rising cake flour like me, then substitute it for 3/4 cup + 2 1/3 tbsp all-purpose flour, 2 and 1/3 tbsp corn starch, 2 1/2 tsp baking powder and 1/4 tsp of salt.It's going to be hard not to make this every week for the rest of the summer.Lemon- Syrup Loaf Cake:(Adapted from How to Be a Domestic Goddess by Nigella Lawson

1/2 cup unsalted butter

1/2 cup + 1 tablespoon white sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract (my addition to the recipe)

2 large eggs

zest of 1 lemon

1 cup + 1 tablespoon self-rising cake flour (substitute recipe above)

pinch of salt

4 tablespoons milk

For the syrup:

Juice of 1 1/2 lemons (approx 4 tbsp)

1/2 cup confectioners sugar

Preheat oven to 350FButter and line the loaf pan with parchment paper.

Cream together the butter, sugar and vanilla extract.Add the eggs and lemon zest, beating them in well.

Sift in the flour and salt, folding in gently but well.Then add the milk and combine well.

Spoon the cake batter into the lined loaf pan and back at 350F for 45 minutes or until golden.

While the cake is baking, prepare the syrup.Add the lemon juice and confectioners sugar to a small saucepan and heat until the sugar dissolves completely. Set aside.As as the cake is out of the oven, puncture all over the top of the cake with a tooth pick.Pour the lemon syrup all over the entire loaf.Allow the cake to cool completely before taking it out of the loaf pan to avoid crumbling.

The cake is so moist, perfectly crumbly, light and beautifully lemony.

I have that book but haven't made that cake. Funnily though I was once scourging my books for a lemon drizzle recipe and overlooked this one as it didn't say "drizzle"! I love sticky lemon cakes (I love any sticky cake come to think of it) and must make this some time.

This really does look delicious! I thought it looked familiar and then I realised where I recognise it from; Nigella does yet ANOTHER cake like this in 'Kitchen.' It's more italian, as it has polenta in it, which gives it a really fantastic crumbly texture. High recommend it!